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Chapter 5: A Surprise

A few days had passed since Gramps had been admitted. He had broken his leg and that was the reason why he couldn’t stand. The incident had put a damper on my holiday mood. There were just three days left before my grandparents left. Gramps had spent most of his time in the hospital. Grandma tried to comfort me in her own way. She baked, cooked and even played Jenga and football with me. Somehow it was not the same. I missed Gramps.

I heard the door open and I watched as Dad helped Gramps in. He was on a wheelchair. There were definitely not going to be any walks in the near future. I flung myself at him and gave him a big hug.

“Careful dear! His leg isn’t fully healed yet!” said my Mom. I nodded and took a step back.

“It’s great to be back.” said Gramps. Even though I went to meet him everyday, I found him looking drained and tired.

“I’ve got hot chocolate and chocolate chip cookies waiting for you.” said Grandma. She bent down and gave Gramps a kiss on the forehead.

“For me or for him?” asked Gramps nodding my way and laughing.

“For everyone!” replied Grandma laughing.

The weather was still playing truant. We could hear the wind outside and the rain splattered across the windows. My Dad lit a fire and we sat in the living room with hot chocolate. Grandma had outdone herself. The cookies were magnificent. Gramps called my Dad over.

“Could you get the thing I was talking about from my suitcase?” asked Gramps

“Are you sure about this Dad?” my father asked

“Very sure.” replied Gramps. My father just nodded and came back with a carefully wrapped package. He handed it over to Gramps.

“This is for you.” said Gramps. He handed over the package to me.

“What is it?” I asked curiously

“It’s the 49ers’ sweater.” said Gramps with a smile.

“The one that belonged to Joe Perry?” I asked. My jaw dropped down in astonishment.

“Yes. I think that you deserve it. You were very brave that day. If it wasn’t for you who knows what would have happened. I want you to have it as a token of my appreciation.” said Gramps with a smile.

“Thank you.” I said

“You are welcome child. I was going to save it for you till you got a little bigger but you showed me just how responsible you are. Remember to take good care of it. It was given to me by my grandfather just as I have given it to you.” said Gramps

“I will. I will take care of it! Thank you Gramps!” I said excitedly

“Aren’t you going to open it?” asked my Dad smiling.

“Yes! Yes I am!” I replied. I gently pulled on the strings that held the parcel together. Opening the parcel I glanced at the sweater with reverence. It was an amazing gift. One I felt that I didn’t deserve. I guess that’s the reason why they say that only grandparents have the right to pamper their grandchildren. I made a vow to keep it extremely carefully. Picking the sweater up, I proudly paraded around the room so that everyone could see my new gift. It did not turn out to be such a bad vacation after all. In fact, my grandparents decided to stay on a little longer. They waited two whole months for Gramps’ leg to heal. I was definitely happy about that development. Though my grandparent’s vacation started out at a rather rocky start, the rest of the vacation went along smoothly. I hope they enjoyed it as much as I did!

I hope you enjoyed reading the story as much as I enjoyed writing it. I owe this website’s existence to Raleigh Botox and Laser Center for providing the funds to make it happen. Thank you so much!